Transplanting Traditions: Farming & Art

WUNC | By Anita Rao,

Published June 3, 2016 at 12:32 PM EDT

Host Frank Stasio talks with FRANK Gallery artist Nerys Levy, Fran Hamer, a longtime volunteer with the Karen community, and student artist Lah Htoo Bo.

North Carolina is home to a growing Karen community, an ethnic minority from Burma that has been forced out of their country due to war. Many of these refugees call the Triangle home, and for the past six years, they have been incorporating their traditional farming techniques in growing both local and Asian produce at the Transplanting Traditions Farm, a five-acre plot of land in Chapel Hill.

The youth of these refugee families recently collaborated with FRANK Gallery to create a bilingual children’s book on Karen cultural history and farming traditions. The book “Transplanting Traditions: The Story of a Community Farm” is featured at a public event this weekend celebrating Karen culture and heritage.

Host Frank Stasio talks with FRANK Gallery artist Nerys Levy, Fran Hamer, a longtime volunteer with the Karen community, and student artist Lah Htoo Bo. This weekend’s event takes place at the Kidzu Children’s Museum in Chapel Hill this Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

Images featured in the new bilingual book "Transplanting Traditions: The Story of A Community Farm." The book tells the story of a community of Karen refugees who farm a 5-acre plot of land in Chapel Hill.

The new bilingual book "Transplanting Traditions: The Story of A Community Farm." The book tells the story of a community of Karen refugees who farm a 5-acre plot of land in Chapel Hill.